NYS Hunting Regulations online

The NYSDEC Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide is now available to view online.  No need to pick up and keep track of a paper copy of this year's hunting seasons and information.  Everything is available online in a digital version you can flip through, just like the paper version!

View the online guide at eRegulations.com or click the image above.

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist
Westmoreland Sanctuary

EAB and ALB info session

Since this past summer's discovery of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) at the West Point campus in Orange County, NY, our staff has been corresponding with Michael Singho, a Horticultural Inspector with the NYS Dept of Agriculture and Markets.  If you've been in the museum over the past few months, you've probably noticed the big posters about Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) as well as information packets about EAB.  These educational brochures were provided by Mr. Singho as a cooperative effort to get the word out about the invasion and destructive potential of these two exotic insect species.

Mr Singho will be presenting a special lecture open to the public at the Greenburgh Public Library on Dec 8th at 10am.  Here is the text of Mr. Singho's email to Westmoreland:

I am writing to inform you that I will be giving an Asian Longhorned Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer update at the Greenburgh Public Library (300 Tarrytown Road, Elmsford NY 10523) on Thursday December 8 th , 2011 at 10:00am.

The session will last approximately 2 hours, and include a question and answer portion.

In addition to my presentation, Rick Harper of Cornell Cooperative Extension will be in attendance to answer pesticide and preventative treatment questions.

As many of you know Emerald Ash Borer has been found in Orange County.  Although it is unknown which direction the beetle will migrate in next, its arrival in Westchester County is inevitable.  When it does arrive, there will be some drastic changes to wood handling practices as the quarantine law is imposed.

Although I encourage everyone to attend, those who work in Orange County (or north) will find this session of particular interest.

Please contact Anne Jaffe-Holmes of the Greenburgh Nature Center to pre-register at 914-813-1251. 

The Westmoreland staff would like to encourage all who are available to attend to do so.  The control and mitigation of this problem will require the diligent eyes and participation of all NY citizens.  Please help us in the fight to protect our forests and community trees from these destructive pests.

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist
Westmoreland Sanctuary

Seen any deer?

So the trend has been fairly universal over the first 2+ weeks - where are all the deer?

Prior to the season opening, a camera survey was run at Westmoreland to capture photos of deer for a population survey.  While the data has yet to be calculated, the number of photos captured on each camera suggested that there are a lot of deer around here.  But since the start of the hunting season, the deer have seemed to vanish for most of us.

There are plenty of theories as to why the deer have seemed to vanish and where they may have gone.  Speculation aside, its fairly obvious that something has happened to the typical pattern and expected routine we may all be used to.

Until this past Sunday, the mystery of the deer had continued to deepen around here.  Not only are hunters not seeing the same number of deer, but there is very little sign of deer activity in most portions of the forest.  Few foot prints, very little scat, and even fewer scrapes and rubs.

I'm excited to write now that some of this seems to be changing back to normal.  There are scrapes in their typical locations along the edges of our trails here at Westmoreland.  The number of fresh piles of scat are becoming plentiful underfoot, as are the number of footprints.  The number of deer sightings by myself and Steve (Westmoreland's Director) have increased in the past few days as well.

The curious thing about most of the deer sightings is that we're seeing most deer in the late mornings and afternoons.  Just today, I was out clearing trails and spotted one female around 1:30pm.  A few hours later around 3:30pm, I spotted 2 females casually walking through the forest in a separate location.

So I'm wondering if deer are adapting to the usual morning hour pressure during hunting season.  Perhaps they've changed their routines to move and forage later in the day when hunters are more likely to be out of the woods.

So what do you say?  Have a theory or an answer to the mystery we've been experiencing?  Share your point of view in the comments below.

Good Hunting,

Adam Zorn, Naturalist
Westmoreland Sanctuary

DEC Adopts Deer Management Plan

Big news about the DEC's Deer Management Plan.  See below.

From Jeremy Hurst, NYS DEC Big Game Biologist:

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that it has adopted a five-year deer management plan.  The final plan, which has been revised based on public comment on a previously released draft version, is now available at www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7211.html. 

"White-tailed deer are an important and valued natural resource for New Yorkers," Commissioner Joe Martens said.  "DEC's new deer management plan provides strategic direction for our staff over the next five years and will help us focus our efforts where they can best meet the biological and social demands associated with deer.  This plan emphasizes the importance of hunting for deer management, and we are particularly excited to create new opportunities for young deer hunters," Martens said.  "We are also cognizant of the significant ecological impacts associated with deer, and we are eager to more fully bring our knowledge of these impacts into the population management process."

The plan describes six primary goals that encompass the current priorities for deer management and the values and issues expressed by the public:  

• Manage deer populations at levels that are appropriate for human and ecological concerns;
• Promote and enhance deer hunting as an important recreational activity, tradition, and population management tool in New York;
• Reduce negative impacts caused by deer;
• Foster public understanding and communication about deer ecology, deer management, economic aspects and recreational opportunities;
• Manage deer to promote healthy and sustainable forests and enhance habitat conservation efforts to benefit deer and other species; and
• Ensure that the necessary resources are available to support sound management of white-tailed deer in New York.

Public comment on the draft deer management plan was carefully reviewed by the Department, and several notable changes were made in the adopted plan, including:

• Changing to a 5-year cycle for evaluating deer population objectives;
• DEC removed the proposal to completely discontinue either-sex and antlerless-only tags;
• DEC is committing to implementing a youth deer hunting opportunity. Details related to timing and structure of a youth hunt have been removed from the plan so as to allow continued discussion to identify the most appropriate option; and
• DEC clarified that a special antlerless-only season for muzzleloader hunters will only occur as the 3rd phase of a multi-phase process, and only in WMUs where additional doe harvest is needed. 

DEC intends to begin implementing strategies of the deer plan immediately.  While many strategies will take several years to develop, DEC expects to begin rulemaking to implement a number of hunting-related aspects of this plan prior to the 2012-13 hunting seasons, including:

• Establishing a youth deer hunt;
• Starting the Southern Zone bow season October 1st;
• Allowing DMPs to be used during the bow and early muzzleloader season in the Northern Zone; and
• Expanding mandatory antler restrictions into 7 WMUs in southeastern New York.

DEC strives to provide a deer management program that balances diverse public interests and values with the biological needs and ecological relationships of deer, for the benefit of New York's white-tailed deer herd and the people of New York.

The above message was provided in an email list maintained by the NYS DEC.  To receive these messages in your inbox, sign up for the NY Big Game mailing list here.

Good Hunting!

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist

Westmoreland Sanctuary

Opening Day

It's opening day for the 2011 Southern Zone bowhunting season!  Good luck to everyone participating in the BAS and Westmoreland deer management programs.

Remember to report your sightings and harvest data to your respective management program logs.  The link at the top of the page titled "Hunter Sightings/Harvest Logs" will take you to the link you need to access your hunter log.

Click the correct link that corresponds to your management program and fill in the data fields.  Click 'Done' when you've entered all your data, and then click 'Done' again on the confirmation page.

In addition to the info required for your management program, DEC is looking for bowhunters to voluntarily report sightings to their Bowhunter Sighting Log.  The DEC log is designed to provide information on long-term population trends for selected wildlife species.  Your sightings allow DEC to track population changes and improve their ability to make management decisions for a variety of species.  If you'd like to participate (we're collecting some wildlife species data already) follow this link to the DEC's Bowhunter Sighting Log to learn how to sign up.

Good Hunting!

Adam Zorn, Naturalist
Westmoreland Sanctuary

Welcome Deer Management Volunteers

Thank you for being a part of the Westmoreland Sanctuary or Bedford Audubon Society Deer Management Team.

This website was created for the collaborative sharing of information related to deer management at Westmoreland Sanctuary and Bedford Audubon Society Preserves. Most importantly, this is the place where you will submit your daily hunter sightings/harvest logs to the Westmoreland Sanctuary and Bedford Audubon Society staff and deer management coordinators.

The collection of your daily sightings and harvest information is of utmost importance for the seasonal evaluation and long-term success of each organization's deer management programs. Please submit your information in a timely manner. Data submission takes only a few minutes of your time.

There are only 7 data fields to fill out: where you hunted, your name, the date you hunted, the start and end times of your hunt, sighting/harvest numbers for deer, and sightings of additional wildlife. Should you have any questions about the sightings/harvest log, please contact your deer management coordinator.  You may also reach out to us by commenting on this post using the comment function below.

The Hunter Sightings/Harvest Log can be found by clicking the "Hunter Sightings/Harvest Log" tab at the top right of this page.

Thank you, be safe, and good luck!

- Adam Zorn, Naturalist             - Phil Settembrino, Deer Management Coordinator
Westmoreland Sanctuary            Bedford Audubon Society